


Poison Ivy: Legacy--Prologue

by PoisonKisses



Series: Poison Ivy: Legacy [1]
Category: Justice League, Poison Ivy (Comics)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Many more tags and ships will be added, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-20
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2018-12-17 15:45:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11854707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PoisonKisses/pseuds/PoisonKisses
Summary: After a hiatus, Poison Ivy returns to Justice League Duty, even as the first whispers of a nameless darkness begin to take shape...





	1. The Interview

**Author's Note:**

> What if...
> 
> What if Ivy never suffered the brutality of her transformation at the hands of Jason Woodrue? What if her career as a meta hadn't started off with rape, betrayal, and torture?
> 
> Instead, what if Ivy had found acceptance as a member of the Justice League?
> 
> This is a story from an elseworld where Ivy became a hero, an unabiguous one. This may be an Ivy you're not used to--a pan Ivy with a healthy sex life, one who is full of hope rather than only rage, one who is friends with heroes and desperately tries to save her villains, one with a dry sense of humor and at peace with--in balance with--her human and plant sides (making her far more powerful than her more villainous counterparts on other worlds.)
> 
> We start off with an interview to set the tone. I hope you enjoy, it will be a bumpy ride. Thank you!

Anyone and everyone in Gotham can tell you where they were the day Robinson Park, the trees themselves, stood up and defended the city against waves of alien attackers, the armies of Apokolips.

And it was all due to my interview subject for today--her incredible abilities, her courage, her fierce intelligence, and her drive to protect and preserve all life on Planet Earth. That day the Justice League came together, vowing to protect us all against threats no single hero could face, and if you’ll forgive the expression, my interviewee is one of the roots of the League.

She really needs no introduction. Environmentalist, Social Justice Activist, LGBTQ Advocate, Playhouse Centerfold, Social Media Darling, Superheroine, Founding Member of the Justice League--Poison Ivy wears a lot of hats. She’s a celebrity: her Gardening blog has more followers than the Kardashians, her spread in Playhouse sold out four printings (all the proceeds going to Rain Forest preservation charities, naturally,) She was Time’s Person of the Year in 2015, is the reigning queen of Esquire’s Sexiest Woman Alive, and her iconic rose symbol is the second most requested tattoo in the United States (only behind the famous Superman shield.) 

She inspires. Little girls all over the world wear tee shirts with her logo and slogans like: I’m No Damsel, or Kiss Crime Goodby, or Forget Princess, I want to Grow Up to be Poison Ivy. Under her watch, fossil fuel emissions have dropped a staggering 65%, deforestation has slowed dramatically, and her work with Mera, Queen of Atlantis and wife of fellow League member Aquaman garnered them both Nobel Peace Prizes. She founded GLADE, a program providing shelter and support for LGBTQ at risk and homeless youth in over twenty cities.

She scandalizes. Poison Ivy is not shy about her sexuality, having been romantically linked to dozens of celebrities and Superheroes. She attended the Oscars earlier this year on the arm of fellow Leaguer, Wonder Woman, screened films at Cannes with famous transgender director Lauren Ibanez, and made an appearance at last year’s Adult Entertainment Expo to present, posing with Adult Film Star and occasional girlfriend Kandace Lushe. Unlike many in the League, who try to stay as politically neutral as possible, she’s not afraid of getting her hands dirty. Highly vocal about women’s reproductive rights, opposed to voter suppression, critical of the rise of the alt-right, she runs afoul of politicians and pundits on a daily basis, the current administration calling her ‘the greatest threat to family values since the separation of church and state.” Various Christian watchdog groups have labeled her as everything from whore and jezebel to witch (a title she doesn’t deny as a vocal and visible Pagan.) Famous talk show host G. Gordon Godfrey calls her iconic fishnet, corset, and heels costume “what you get when a porn star decides to fight crime.”

Poison Ivy, or Ivy as her friends call her, is our subject today, and we’ll chat about everything from being the world’s most visible queer Superheroine to finding time in her busy schedule to have a life outside of capes and tights.

I’m Lois Lane for the Daily Planet, and this is Metropolis Coffee Chat!

Ivy meets me at the Centennial Park Trailside Tea Room, so close we can see the top of Superman’s head. Today she’s wearing a green sundress, lace stockings and wedge boots with a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses. She orders a chamomile and lavender tea blend and nibbles strawberry scones as we talk.

Daily Planet: Thank you so much for taking the time to meet me. I know how busy you are.

Ivy: Nonsense. It’s always a pleasure, Lois. Metropolis is just across the bay, after all. I tend to be in town on Justice League business anyway.

DP: About that...the rumor is you’re returning to active duty after a 6 month hiatus--Junior Member Raven has filled in for your traditional role of healing and support. Is it true? Is Poison Ivy going to be back on the roster?

I: Well, we’re having a meeting Monday and that’s not entirely up to me. It’s our bi-annual meeting and we’ll discuss roster changes, then take a vote. It’s why I’m in town, in fact--Mera and I are catching a showing of Wicked tonight, and I’m helping open a new Farmer’s Market on the lower West End tomorrow morning.

DP: This is what I meant about a busy schedule.

I: (laughing) Oh, I don’t deny it. My leave of absence was partially due to having too much on my plate. I’m a workaholic, being still doesn’t suit me. I was launching Dryad, Mera’s baby had just come and I wanted to spend time in Atlantis with her, I thought it was time to step back. Besides, Raven is lovely and earnest...she more than filled in for me.

DP: Speaking of Dryad, how is it going? Supposedly, Lillian, the LexCorp cosmetics brand, has taken massive hits since you went into direct competition with it. Lex has vowed to beat you in the Market.

I: Lex is welcome to try. Lillian is tested on animals. There are whole labs--some right here in Metropolis--that are chambers of horrors. Lillian is cheap and ubiquitous, women in today’s society are expected to wear makeup--many had no other choice but to depend on it--it’s a billion dollar industry for LexCorp. I wanted to give them a healthy, viable, cruelty-free alternative and that’s where Dryad came from.

DP: Your makeup and hair are always so flawless. Do you use Dryad yourself?

I: Dryad is based on the all natural, plant-based things I make at home and share with people close to me, so in a sense, yes. There are a few alterations, of course, for mass production, but by and large the baseline formulas are very similar.

DP: You’ve received some criticism for it. Certain feminists have called you out, saying you are ‘covertly supporting the patriarchy.’

I: Oh, I know. I get a lot of hate. Whole websites dedicated to my ‘false feminism’ and ‘over-sexed embrace of the male gaze.’ They’re entitled to their opinions, I try not to pay them any mind. The world is what it is. Striving for change, for progress, is a good thing, and if anything characterizes my work, I like to think that struggle is it. Yes, I’m sexually empowered, I believe women should be allowed to be the sexual beings they are, and that women should be allowed to choose what that entails. If that means a woman wants to wear heels and makeup, why should we tell her no? Tell her that’s not right? As a Superheroine--and just as an aside I’m using that term under protest as I don’t feel particularly heroic, but it gets the point across--I project an image of who I am, what I represent, by how I present myself. I just don’t believe sex is bad. It’s natural. It’s fun. It’s a celebration of life itself. Choosing to enjoy it should stop being stigmatized, as should eschewing it altogether, if that’s what one’s sexuality entails. I hope that young women especially get that message.

DP: I know you run afoul of Justice League official policy often, what is their take on your position? Your costume?

I: (she laughs) Oh, I think I’m responsible for more than a few of Kal’s (Kal-el, Superman) grey hairs. Official Justice League policy is that individual members do not reflect the organization’s. He’d prefer we stay entirely out of politics, but we have a King, a Princess, and an intergalactic space cop on the roster--really the concern is opinion of the League. I get it. We need to seem above most political snafus. As far as sales, most of the merchandise is controlled through a third party. League shares tend to be donated to an assortment of charities, and the League itself is privately, independently funded. Whatever I say that impacts public opinion of me or sales is on me.

DP: I speak for many when I say we’ll be happy to see you back in green. At one point or another, you’ve been linked romantically to most of the other members but nothing has ever stuck. Your love life is the subject of whole magazines, speculation, and attention as one of the most outspoken LGBTQ celebrities in the world--definitely the most out and visible Leaguer and member of the Super community. You know I have to ask. Is there anyone special at the moment?

I: No, I really haven’t had time. I see Arthur and Mera, Superman and, well, you, and I know I’d like to find someone to share my life with. That support structure seems so appealing--but at the same time I’m so busy anyone I became romantic with would have to share me with my work. That wouldn’t be fair to them, and if they’re out there, I haven't found them yet. It’s a challenge--I’m a very intimidating woman in many ways, my peers are aliens and metas and not always emotionally available themselves. Batman and I have waffled back and forth for years...Wonder Woman and I? We try it so regularly you could set your watch by it...but we’re just not long term compatible. For now, I’m content. I’m polyamorous, and I like to think when life slows down a bit a person or persons is out there waiting for me. 

DP: You may have just given hope to half the country.

I: (laughs) Well, I’m pretty hard to get along with. Just ask Lantern. The important thing, for me, is the knowledge that I’m a role model for so many--especially queer girls. They look up to me. I want them to know it’s ok to be who they are, date who they want, love as they wish. That it’s ok to be single, to choose something besides vanilla monogamous relationships as dictated by society. Family has a way of finding you, my family is the League. Batman. Nightwing. Mera, Black Canary. I have a full life and no complaints, whether I’m in a Hallmark romance or not.

DP: You’ve had a history with some of the League’s villains. I know it can be a sore subject. Can you talk about Killer Frost?

I: Oh. Well, Frost and I were friends before all this, college roommates. She was my first in many ways. My first best friend. My first girlfriend, my first female kiss. She was sweet and innocent and wanted to save the world, just as I did. My friend is still in there, tempering her. Otherwise Frost would be one of the most dangerous killers alive--on the level of the Joker in terms of pure evil. I hope to help her, someday. She’s currently safe...I visit her regularly, and she comes and goes. That thing she is now hates me, blames me. 

DP: A lot of your so-called Rogue’s Gallery, the Weeds according to Vicki Vale, have a personal connection, don’t they? Seeder, Clayface, Grimm, Rancid, Killer Frost?

I: I knew most of them, or they knew me, yes. I’m envious of Batman’s group of villains, in a way. Most of his are just random. Zsasz, Manbat, Riddler, Joker--if it’s personal it’s contrived on their end.

DP: Some have cited you as darker than the other Leaguers, even going so far as to suggest you walk the line of anti-hero. How do you respond to that?

I: Well, I’m no saint. I’m opinionated, I’m proactive, I’m strong willed, and I have no patience for bullies and killers. I do believe life is precious, but I’m a natural gardener. Sometimes you have to cull a sick plant to save the rest, and I believe some of the villains we face need to be culled. I see Superman’s point--as an organization we cannot become Executioners. While I believe our legal system is in shambles, it’s all we have, and we have to depend on it. Still, I am not afraid to bend rules...I suppose that does make me a bit of a black sheep among the League.

DP: I’m afraid that’s all the time we have. Thank you so much for this. Our readers will fall even more in love with you than they already are.

I: Thank you, Lois. As always, love talking to you, the Planet, and your readers!


	2. Excerpts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He has a scrapbook

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to take a long hiatus due to NaNoWriMo and some personal things...but I'm back and will be posting several pieces rapid fire over the next few days. Thanks for reading! Can't wait to really dig into this.

It was a digital scrapbook--a collection of things celebrating _her._ Every night he'd page through it, watching. It paid to remember her...paid to remember his hate.

Pressing play, he heard Vicki Vale's lilting, professional, sing-song voice. 

_She stood between us and the Punisher mech, fearless of the rapid fire pulse blasts flying our direction. She made a gesture, and a tree lay in front of her, expanding, making a shield. We could hear the foot soldiers coming, hear screams as they killed with impunity._

_Her eyes were glowing, green energy bleeding off. All around us, we could feel the very ground shaking, feel a tingle on our skin that's hard to describe--a little like the feel of a thunderstorm right before it hits._

_"Who will fight?" She screamed it. "Who will fight for Gotham?!" I'm a reporter, I've never so much as touched a weapon, but I was screaming that I would, and a thousand voices around me were agreeing. "Pick up a stick!"_

_We all looked at her like she was insane, but at that moment, a stray parademon had made it past the alien, Superman, and the Amazon and it swooped at her, howling for her blood. I saw her, with one hand, snatch it out of the air and club it to the ground, then she ripped its head off with a yank. "Pick up a stick now!"_

_I picked up a small twig, the only thing available. I wasn't afraid, I was exhilerated--I can remember my heart pounding, shaking with adrenaline. She held out her hand, and suddenly our twigs and branches and sticks were writhing and growing in our hands. I held on with both, my brain had shut down, and it grew...grew into a sword--a sword made of living wood-- and I could feel it pulsing with raw, crackling energy...it was like holding a livewire. All around me, a thousand other citizens, normal people, business men, bus drivers, school teachers, were holding wooden weapons._

_Then the trees began to move. They swayed in an unseen wind, and suddenly an Oak near me tore itself from its roots with an ear-splitting, thunderous crack and took a heavy step that shook the ground. All around us, the very trees of Gotham began to march. I heard myself screaming, not in fear--I was so jazzed up I was screaming my head off--and then she yelled "This is where we make our stand. We are the vanguard! Follow the trees! For Gotham!"_

_I roared my agreement, and then I saw a massive beech tree tear the Punisher mech in half, a smaller silver maple slamming tons of wood into Apokoliptian pilots and leaving...smears...behind. Then we were charging, we were fighting, and all along, Poison Ivy was leading us._

_When the Furies showed up, trying to turn back the tide, I was sure it was over, but Wonder Woman was there too, fighting Barda. I saw Ivy slice Stompa in half, as though she were butter._

_I knew, it wasn't just the aliens and metas fighting Apokolips, or even Gotham._

_It was the Earth itself, and we were Her instruments._

_\--excerpt from Vicki Vale's pullitzer winning piece, "Nobody Messes with Us: a Perspective of the Battle of Gotham, Five Years Later"_

A click on the next document, G. Gordon Godfrey's nasally, annoying voice replacing Vale's studied, practiced, sexy one.

_And Wonder Woman. Tell me, what sort of a "hero" dresses like a gogo dancer from the 60s? She claims to be a Goddess--when is she going to demand worship? And when we refuse, will she force us? I don't know about you, my lovely viewers, but the Bible tells me there's only one God, and he doesn't look like an extra from SNL..._

_And the other woman, Poison Ivy...don't get me started on her. She can control men's minds and dresses like a Dominatrix. What hero would wear a corset that tight? Do we really want little girls looking up to a sexual deviant? Have you heard of this game kids are playing in schools? Ivy-chase...one little girl is Ivy and chases the other kids around. If she catches one, she kisses them and they have to freeze--not making this up, mind you--and it doesn't matter if it's a boy or girl, because this Ivy swings both ways. Brainwashing our children! MAGA, people, Making America Gay Again!_

_She's supposed to be able to grow plants...why isn't she using these powers to grow food for hungry Americans?_

_These Justice League women aren't heroes. The women staying at home, raising families...raising the next generation of honest, hard-working American tax payers--those are the real heroes._

_Also, another thing..._

His smile was grim. It was good to know he wasn't the only one who seethed with hatred, sneered in disgust at her.

He clicked the next document.

_"Tonight on Conan! The lovely ladies of the league!"_

_They came out together, Diana, Princess of Themiscyra, the immortal demi-goddess known as Wonder Woman and Poison Ivy, Avatar of the Green, Mother Nature's Chosen Protector. Diana wore a long sheath dress of shimmering gold, Ivy a flaring diaphanous number that showed her luscious curves as teasing shadows. They were holding hands, smiling. They laughed at the ridiculous fool's jokes, entertained his nonsense._

_Playing the game._

_"So, the rumor is you two...uh..." the host turned to the camera, one eyebrow arched, lecherous, the audience tittered._

_"Well," began Ivy, her breathy voice fitting for such talk, "We've dated, but honestly we're both so strong willed it never works out long term." She smiled at Diana, who was smirking at her._

_"But, in the short term, Conan..." Diana let the statement trail. The audience helpfully OooooOoooooing for her.  
_

He growled, pausing it, staring at Ivy's frozen face. She was smiling. Happy. While he hid like a freak, rotted away in the darkness while she had the power he deserved.

"Not for much longer. Dr. Isley." He hated that name, that title. "No, you're no Doctor." He clicked the mouse hard, bringing up the file of pictures, her spread from Playhouse.

_Baring it All for the Earth: The Justice League's Green Vixen, Poison Ivy_ read the cover, Ivy lounging on a bed of rose petals, a teasing smile on her painted lips, her eyes lidded with feigned desire. She looked like a Goddess. She looked like a slut. He almost threw his laptop across the room.

He paged through the pictures.

Ivy lounging against a tree, clad only in her ridiculously long, red curls, like a Nymph from old.

Ivy lying in the branches of a different tree, an apple in hand with a bite taken out of it, her sleek, lush, perfect body for all to see. Temptation made flesh. Eve and the Serpent combined.

Ivy in the thigh deep water of a crystal clear pool, framed by thick forest, her back to the camera, the curves of her ass no less than mouthwatering. She was glancing coquettishly over her lithe shoulder at the camera, her wet hair pulled to the side to show her sleek back.

He clicked the Justice League folder, then brought up the official shot of the roster. Superman was in front, hands on hips, with Wonder Woman flanking him on his right and the Batman on his left, looking grim. Green Lantern--John Stewart--on Diana's right, Flash on the Bat's left, Aquaman on Lantern's right, and then her. Poison Ivy, on Flash's left. The founding members. He sneered, focusing on her in her provocative little fishnet and heels. She looked sexy, confident, bemused. "Soon, Pam. Soon things are going to change for you. I promise it."

He clicked the audio file sitting on his desktop. Her statement to the press several months ago...

_"Thank you ladies and gentlemen. I've called you here today to officially announce, effective immediately, I'm placing myself on the reserve alternate roster and taking a leave of absence until further notice. Raven will be filling in for me while I'm away. I'm afraid my plate is just a little too full and I want to be present to help King Arthur and Queen Mera's baby come into the world...for the time being I'll be in residence in Atlantis. I'll take a few questions now."_

He paused it. "Soon..."


End file.
